Help desk jobs have long been seen as a stepping stone to other roles, but that perception is out of date. Today’s help desk professionals are taking on more complex work and they’re in high demand.

Over the past year, there has been a major increase in the number of open job postings for support specialists: Approximately 39,000 job postings in Q1 2015 vs approximately 48,000 job postings in Q1 2016, according to CompTIA’s IT Jobs Snapshot for Q1 2016. While not every job posting translates to a hire, the data does suggest increasing job market demand for this role.

The growth for help desk jobs is being driven by technology changes and greater skill demands. “Help desk technicians and staff are being asked to take on more responsibilities. Many in these roles are now expected to understand and address authentication problems, address malfunctions between several systems (e.g. server, desktop and mobile) and deliver service with excellent communication skills,” commented explained James Stanger, senior director of products at IT certifications provider CompTIA.